Episode 97: Death Blooms
Written By Karl White
In the cold, blistery winter of 1981, Win Wheeler and the DMD were preparing an ambitious attack using the Crimson Virus. Their target was a trio of shopping malls across Western Washington during the height of the busy holiday season. The plan was for the plague to be dispersed differently at each site -- through food-service, bathrooms, and a children’s play area. The intended goal was to confuse responders, and hinder any type of containment, through multiple threats, spreading disorder and death.
Months of meticulous groundwork went into the operation, with the teens staking out venues over a series of months to ensure nothing could go wrong. On the day of the attack, teams of two were assigned to each location, instructed to wait for final confirmation at designated payphones before releasing the virus on unsuspecting crowds, then disappearing into the chaos. It was close to flawless...until it all unraveled, before it could begin.
On their way to Northdale Mall, “Team B”, comprised of Win’s girlfriend Tiffany and his longtime friend Brad, were pulled over for a broken taillight. Holding the package, Brad panicked. He bolted from the vehicle, drawing one officer into pursuit on foot, while the second approached Tiffany with his weapon drawn. In the confusion, Brad managed to dump the virus into a trash bin before he was caught. Both were taken into custody. The situation escalated further when police discovered a .22 caliber handgun, and a bag of marijuana in the car.
Pulled over on the way to the mall - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
Unable to reach Team B via the payphone, Win sensed trouble and aborted the mission. Months of hard work collapsed in a matter of minutes.
Back home, as word of the arrests spread, Win felt exposed. He’d started the DMD when he was 15, as a shared vision among restless teenagers, a desire to disrupt, and reshape a world they believed had grown hollow. But for the first time, Win saw how easily it could all fall apart.
Tiffany was released from jail, but Brad wasn’t. His arrest violated a probation for a previous, albeit minor conviction, and he remained in custody longer than expected. But with no clarity on what had been said or discovered, Win spiraled into suspicion. He dismantled his lab, destroyed evidence, and reduced his work to a single remaining sample of the Crimson Virus, hidden deep within his room.
An aside, Brad’s discarded “package” did, in fact, produce an outbreak, through not where intended. At a city dump, sanitation workers reported aggressive, reanimated rats and stray dogs. The incident drew the attention of the Health Department, and Dr. Mei Lin Zhou arrived with a containment unit to quell the outbreak. Though the source remained unclear, she suspected a connection to the group responsible for the Bunyan’s Big Bite incident earlier that year.
Unintended consequence - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
Win never knew the outbreak occurred, consumed instead by the immediate fallout of Brad’s arrest. The group was ordered to go quiet, their plans suspended indefinitely. When Brad was finally released, he reached out, desperate to reassure Win of his loyalty, but the silence between them held.
Determined to prove himself, Brad searched for a way back in. That opportunity came in the spring of 1982…
Hundreds of miles off the western coast of Canada, the Triton, a luxury cruise liner, was rocked by a series of explosions shortly after sundown. Evacuation efforts saved most aboard, but as the vessel sank, the shifting hull cast several passengers into the cold, choppy water. Among them were Doug Norwood and his fiancée, Mary Lasco.
As the Triton finally capsized, the currents pushed the scared couple further out to sea. After hours in the freezing water, Mary slipped beneath the surface and was lost. Doug survived long enough to find an unmanned life raft, drifting alone for days as the ocean carried him north, toward something far worse than the open water.
Doug Norwood, lost at sea - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
The CIA outpost of Sedna -- Once manned by Roy Starling, the island had been reassigned after his retirement. Fred Pike, Larry Halford’s nephew, had taken the post, living there with his wife, Pam. The assignment was meant to be quiet and uneventful. But beneath the island, inside a deteriorating storage bunker, a cache of weaponized strains of the plague had been left to decay. Over time, the containment failed. Vermin breached the structure. The virus, long dormant, found new hosts. It spread silently through the island’s wildlife.
The first signs appeared when Pam found homing pigeons she raised, dead. Then woodland creatures, and their dog Teddy became infected, exhibiting strange symptoms.
Fred, recalling fragments of stories Larry and Roy had once told him about a sickness that could do such things, reached out for help.
Fred and Pam Pike on Sedna - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
At the same time, castaway Doug Norwood made landfall on the island desperate to find help. He instead stepped into the vicious cycle of how the plague spreads, playing out in the remote environment.
By the time Roy Starling mobilized a response team and reached Sedna, it was too late. No one survived. Worse still, several infected pigeons had already reached the mainland, triggering a small but violent outbreak in a public park in Vancouver. Luckily the spread was localized, and contained quickly, but the implications were undeniable.
What happened on Sedna was heartbreaking, hitting too close to home for the men who worked so hard to keep the world safe from the horrors of the virus. Another consequence of a war no one else knew existed.
Back in Seattle, in the aftermath of the Triton disaster, Brad seized what he believed was an opportunity to reclaim his standing. Through Middle Eastern news outlets, he released a statement claiming the DMD planted explosives aboard the ship. A year earlier, the group attempted to claim responsibility for the fast-food incident, only for the message to be intercepted. Dr. Zhou had been tracking them ever since. But with the dump outbreak and now a false claim tied to a mechanical failure, she began to suspect the group was dangerous, but not as organized as they wanted the world to believe.
When Win learned what Brad had done, the reaction was immediate. It wasn’t just reckless, it was betrayal. And so, he called the group together one final time.
Win disbands the DMD - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
WIN: I started all this with a purpose. A message to the powers-that-be. The world needs a reset. Too many people, too much waste, too much noise pretending to matter. I thought we understood that...but I can see none of you do. So the DMD is officially disbanded.
The room fell silent. But Brad spoke up, trying to hold onto what little ground he had left.
BRAD: Win, it’s my fault. I’m sorry. I’ll walk away. I won’t say anything to anyone. I swear.
WIN: You’re damn right you won’t. None of you will. Our secrets are carried to the grave. And if I ever hear otherwise, I will unleash the virus on you, and everyone you care about.
Through the convergence of events, the Triton, Sedna, and the outbreak in Vancouver, an idea would be born. While the world at large wasn’t privy to the horrific happenings on the remote island, what did make the papers was the aftermath of Pam Pike’s plague infected homing pigeons making it to the mainland. While the outbreak itself was violent, vicious, and fast moving, killing 27 in total...it was quickly contained. But happening in such a public place, local news wanted answers to the sudden influx of Canadian and U.S. Military in a cordoned off park. The official explanation pointed to a rare avian contagion, affecting only birds.
Over breakfast, Win took a particular interest in the details of the morning paper. Having no knowledge of Dr. Haruki Ichikawa, who himself faced issues transmitting the virus to inflict mass casualties. The doctor took a page from the Black Plague, using insects as vectors, with limited reach.
Reading of a bird flu, Win saw the answer in the sky. Birds could carry the virus further, faster. Not only contaminating humans in a wider range, but also other birds. Avian flu was known to affect chickens through contact with infected wild birds, especially migratory waterfowl, ducks, geese...that’d make the catalyst a dual threat. Spreading to humans, but also compromising the food chain.
Finding inspiration at breakfast - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
Looking down at his eggs, and the runny yolk on his plate, the connection crystallized.
That same day, Win began acquiring supplies to raise carrier pigeons. He realized he didn’t need anyone to help him. Didn’t need to surround himself with the likeminded. The safest way for him to wreak the havoc he wanted, was alone.
For more of the story about Fred and Pam Pike, listen to the Nocturnum Collective Podcast -- Featured in Season Four: Bury the Ashes.
TO BE CONTINUED…